Hysteria

"Yes," Sintra confirmed. "However, they won't be the only ones getting involved."

I scratched my head. "So, what should we be expecting?"

"The Noir are coming as well," Sintra explained. "As one of the oldest gods, Bel had amassed a significant amount of Eden. If the Faynes were to acquire all of it, there would be a massive upheaval in the power balance between the two."

"So, if I am hearing correctly, Earth's about to become the battleground of a supernatural war?" Eli assumed.

"Not exactly," Sintra corrected. "Since every god is afraid of dying and losing their Eden, they will instead find humans they can use as their Servants and imbue them with some of their Eden to find it for them. Similar to the pact Bel made with Ezra."

We all shook our heads in disbelief. The night was getting crazier by the second. I can't believe that it was just yesterday that my biggest worries were an English assignment and getting a date to the meteor shower. What has my life become?

Isa broke the silence. "So how long do we have until these Servant things are made?"

"I'm not sure," Sintra confessed. "That depends on how long it takes a god to find someone acceptable. Could take days, weeks, or even months but I doubt they'll have the patience to wait that long."

"Then we don't have time to waste," Eli decided. "We have to help Ez prepare."

Isa nodded in agreement. I felt confident having these two backing me up. We started discussing what our next plan of action should be. Our phones kept blowing up from social media posts and emergency warnings about incidents identical to Isa's. I scrolled through my phone and discovered that this wasn't just a local problem, it was happening globally.

"I think we need to get supplies right now," Isa suggested. "We need to stock up on as much food and essentials as possible. Then we can go to y'all's place and figure out the rest."

We all decided that we should take a trip to a supermarket and grab canned foods and must-need essentials like medicine, gas, hygiene products, and most importantly, toilet paper. We grabbed all the duffel and reusable grocery bags we could find at Isa's place and headed to my car.

"So, do I have to find some sort of sheath to carry you in?" I asked, awkwardly holding the sword and bags as I walked.

"Technically, that's what you are," Sintra chuckled. "You can just say 'dismissed' when you no longer need me."

"Oh, okay thanks. You're dismissed then."

The sword dematerialized in my hand and I felt a chill as it was absorbed into my body.

I hopped into the car. "So, what's the closest store to here?"

"I think," -Isa buckled herself in- "Frestock is our best bet. It's open 24/7 and only a few minutes away."

Isa gave me directions as I drove. In the five minute drive, we heard more police sirens and saw totaled cars abandoned on the side of the road. Surprisingly, we didn't see any wild animals roaming the streets. As we neared the store, we watched as cars raced past us to the entrance."

"Jeez, it's four in the morning. I wasn't expecting this many people to be here!" Eli groaned.

When I pulled into the parking lot, it was filled to the brim with cars. I zigzagged through each row until I found a vacant spot in the back corner of the lot. Before we exited the car, we all took a moment to steel ourselves for the potential danger we were walking into.

Bags in hand, we stepped out of the car and jogged to the store. On our way over, we saw groups of people running out of the store carrying anything they could to their car. As we reached the entrance, I noticed that no one was working at the registers. Inside was what we feared the most, a crazed mob. Everyone was pushing and screaming at each other as they tried grabbing something. Eli pushed his way through the door, making room for us to follow behind him.

"I'm going to grab the food!" Eli yelled over the noise. "You two go grab the other essentials!"

Eli muscled his way through to where the crowd was the thickest, the canned goods aisle. I grabbed Isa's hand and led us to the aisles with the essentials. After forcing our way through, we grabbed all the shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and toilet paper we could find while being shoved by others. When the shelves were nearly empty, the mob grew in hysteria as everyone grew even more desperate.

Brawls began over items that we would never have given a second look in the past like toilet paper and baby wipes. We had to get out of here. I grabbed one last item and then we began pushing our way towards the entrance. Hands kept tugging at our bags as people tried to take what we had.

A hand grabbed my leg. I turned around and my jaw dropped, why is there a kid here? Tears were running down his face as he pointed at his mom wrestling a package of diapers from another lady whose cart was filled with them. There's no way I can just ignore this. I slid my way in between the two women and tore it away from them. The lady's eyes stared at me in shock as I handed it to the little boy's mother who immediately started thanking me.

I pulled her to the side. "You've got to grab your things and get out of here before it gets worse. Your son shouldn't be here."

She nodded at me, clutching the diaper bag so tightly her knuckles were turning white. I turned away and carried my bag like a football. Isa followed right behind me as we made our way to the entrance.

The store was getting noticeably louder. People were shouting and yelling as they argued and fought over goods. When we were nearing the entrance, I heard someone calling my name. I turned my head towards the direction the sound came from and spotted Eli's head above the crowd. He was carrying a large cardboard box filled to the brim with cans and other foods. People were trying to steal from his collection but he bulldozed his way through.

We rendezvoused near the entrance and exited the building. It had to be almost five in the morning, but streams of people were still making their way into the store. The lamp posts in the parking lot were all off. We began making our way to my car when we heard a blood-curdling scream. Ahead of us, a figure in the dark was running their way towards the store.

I stopped walking as I watched the person come into the light. It was a young adult male. He was wrapping his arms around his stomach, blood was seeping through his hands. He slowed to a limp as he got close to us, fear present in his eyes.

"H-h-help me," he quivered.

Before we could react, multiple pairs of yellowish-red globes appeared in the shadows. The wounded man shrieked at the sight of them and backpedaled away from them. I cautiously began to back up as well, prompting Isa and Eli to do the same. As the man was moving back, he lost his footing and tripped, falling flat on his back. His hands flung up in the air and his mid-rift was no longer covered.

Guts and organs spilled out of his stomach and splattered on the concrete. The man went hysterical and wailed in disbelief and pain, we all tensed up as we anticipated what was going to happen next. The distance between the eyes and the nearly dead man was erased in an instant. As the eyes exited the shadows, we finally saw their owners.

Eight beasts the size of large dogs stepped into the light. Their furs were patterned with gray and black stripes and had long bushy tails. Blood was dripping from their maws and razor sharp claws. All of them pounced at the bloodied man and tore into him.

The man gave one last cry before he died. I felt intense waves of nausea crashing within me. I dropped on all fours as I emptied the contents of my stomach onto the concrete. My forehead was damp with sweat and matted hair. Eli and Isa pulled me to my feet and turned me away from the scene. I wiped my mouth with the sleeve of my shirt.

We sprinted towards my car as we heard flesh being torn from the bones. When people exited the store, they cried out in fear at what they saw. I handed Isa one of my bags as we ran and fished out my keys once I spotted my car. We quickly threw our stuff in and sped out of the parking space.

Many cars also followed suit, causing a small traffic jam in the store's parking lot. All the lanes were packed making it nearly impossible to leave. Damn, we need to get out of here. I spotted a tight opening and took a chance at it. The left side of the car rose higher as I drove over a curb. The right side of the car scraped against another car, causing the neighboring cars to honk.

I miraculously managed to maneuver my way through the sea of cars at the expense of my car's paint job. As we exited the lot, we heard the sound of cries grow louder. Not looking back, I slammed on the gas break and shot out onto the street.